London Oratory School

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The London Oratory School
Motto Respice finem
Established 1852
Type Voluntary Aided Comprehensive
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic, Oratorian
Headmaster David McFadden
Location Seagrave Road
London
SW6 1RX
England
Ofsted number 100365
Students 1,700 (350 in sixth form)
Gender Years 1-5 boys, sixth form mixed
Website School website

The London Oratory School is a Roman Catholic, voluntary aided, comprehensive secondary school in Fulham, London. The Headmaster is David McFadden.[1]

Contents

[edit] The school

London Oratory educates boys in the age range of 7-16 and boys and girls in the age range 16-18 (the sixth form) in accordance with the principles of the Catholic Church. There are around 1350 pupils including about 350 in the sixth form. The proportion of minority ethnic students is much higher than in most schools with over 50 first languages represented. The school shares its religious and cultural identity with the Oratory Church and its close connection with the church helps ensure its strong links with the Catholic community.[2]

[edit] History

Founded in 1852 by the London Oratory Fathers, the school was first situated in King William Street in the City of London. In 1856 two parochial schools were opened in Chelsea, West London. In 1863, a boys school was started in Chelsea, at the request of Cardinal Wiseman who wanted to provide a wider education for Catholic children than was available at that time, and in 1870 a school for girls staffed by the Daughters of the Cross. The schools were fee paying until 1912 when they were amalgamated as Central Schools on a site in Stewart's Grove, Chelsea. In 1962 the Daughters of the Cross were withdrawn after almost a century of devoted work and, in 1963, the school became an all boys, four-form entry school, as there were many other schools for girls in the Diocese.[3]

The school moved to its present site in Seagrave Road, Fulham, West London in 1970. It became an all ability school for boys from 11+, admitting 180 boys in the first year. Girls are admitted in the sixth form. In September 1996, a Junior House was opened which admits 20 boys for a specialist musical education with a strong emphasis on Catholic liturgical music. Also opened in 1996, the Arts Centre (renamed as the 'John McIntosh Arts Centre' in December 2006, in honour of the recently retired Headmaster) provides music and art facilities for the pupils. In 1998 the school became a voluntary aided school continuing in the trusteeship of the Fathers of the London Oratory, who own the building and grounds and appoint the majority of the governors, having been a grant maintained school since 1989.[3]

In 1999, John McIntosh, a former headmaster at the school, asked parents to pay a monthly levy. The school's grant maintained status was removed by the Education Department. The changes means the school had a 250,000 pound deficit. Parents were asked to pay 30 pounds for one child and an extra 15 pounds for a second child. McIntosh considered commercial sponsorship if not enough money was raised.[4][5]

David McFadden, an Oratory old boy and former teacher at the school, took over as headmaster on 1st January 2007, after the retirement of John McIntosh.[6] McIntosh had been at the school for just over 39 years, (29 as headmaster). Mr McFadden was previously headmaster of the Christian Brothers College in Fremantle, Western Australia.

[edit] Academic standards

The school's most recent Ofsted report, published in 12 June 2006, classed the school as outstanding, the highest possible grade. Separately, the sixth form was also assessed as outstanding. The report said: "The London Oratory School is an outstanding school with a distinctive ethos and vibrant environment. The standards pupils achieve in public tests and examinations at all ages are outstanding. The headmaster's leadership of the school is excellent and he is well supported by a very effective senior management team. There is a strong international dimension to the school's work which many pupils are involved in."[2]

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Terrance Higgins Trust

In November 2007, the London Oratory School dropped the Terrence Higgins Trust as the nominated charity for a World Aids Day concert. This was one month before the concert was scheduled to take place. (The Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns on various issues related to AIDS and HIV. It advocates the use of condoms to prevent AIDS and is a lead organisation in the England & Wales gay men's health promotion partnership).

McFadden wrote "The London Oratory school will always want to make sure its charitable fundraising work and its work … are done with organisations whose philosophy, aims and practices support Christian values. As the nominated charity does not meet this criterion it would be inappropriate for the school to financially support this charity from the proceeds of the concert."[7] McFadden did not explain why the Terrence Higgins Trust was nominated in the first place.[8]

The replacement charity would be Surf, which helped survivors of the Rwandan genocide who had been "deliberately infected" with Aids, he added.

A priest linked to the school was HIV positive and was cared for by the Terrence Higgins Trust. Father David Martin was chaplain and governor at the school (see "Abuse Inquiry" below).[9] Martin was also the focus of an abuse inquiry.

In response, Actor Simon Callow resigned as patron of a choir at the school in protest. He was also a patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust.[10]

[edit] Abuse inquiry

In 2001, police and social workers investigated child abuse claims against Father David Martin, a former chaplain and governor at the school. Pupils alleged that they were abused by him. Anonymous letters were circulated to Church figures and the media. Numerous people contacted Childline and made specific allegations against Martin.

At least six pupils were alleged to have met with Martin in his rooms at the London Oratory church, which is affliated with the school. Two boys were said to have expressed fears that they might have contracted the HIV virus from Martin.[11] [12] [13] [14]

[edit] Pupil interviews

The governors of a local primary school complained about the admissions procedures at the London Oratory school. It also launched a separate complaint about the "clarity, fairness and objectivity" of the school's approach to over-subscription. [15]

Adjucator Elizabeth Passmore decided to uphold the complaint about the school's interviewing procedures and confirmed that it has breached the new admissions code. The old code allowed the school to interview parents and prospective pupils to assess religious or denominational commitment. The new code says that interviews should not be used in any part of the application or admission process, except in a boarding school for a boarding place.[16] [17]

The London Oratory went to court to continue interviewing parents of prospective pupils. It won a case in 2006.[18]

[edit] London Oratory School Schola

Main article: London Oratory School Schola
London Oratory School Schola in performance
London Oratory School Schola in performance

The London Oratory School Schola is a notable choir that was established in 1996. The current director of the Schola is Lee Ward.[19][20] In addition to liturgical and concert performances, the choir has recorded film soundtracks and audio albums.[21]

[edit] Notable former Oratorians

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC News | EDUCATION | London Oratory: A high profile school
  2. ^ a b "The London Oratory School - Inspection Report",Ofsted, 12 June 2006
  3. ^ a b History of the School. London Oratory School. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  4. ^ BBC News | EDUCATION | London Oratory: A high profile school
  5. ^ Duplicity claim in PM boys' school row | Politics | The Guardian
  6. ^ The London Oratory School. London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
  7. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/nov/08/schools.theatrenews Callow Quits London Oratory Post
  8. ^ http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MDterry.html The Pope Vs Terry Higgins
  9. ^ Top Catholic school's U-turn over concert for Aids charity | UK news | The Guardian
  10. ^ Callow in threat to quit Oratory post | UK news | The Guardian
  11. ^ Abuse inquiry over HIV chaplain at Blair school, Daily Telegraph
  12. ^ Child abuse probe at top Catholic school | Mail Online
  13. ^ Sex abuse inquiry at Oratory school http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,407036,00.html
  14. ^ BBC News | UK | Abuse inquiry at top Catholic school
  15. ^ Criticism for Blairs' school | UK news | The Guardian
  16. ^ Criticism for Blairs' school | UK news | The Guardian
  17. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/08/nedu108.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/08/ixhome.html
  18. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article728026.ece
  19. ^ "The Schola", The London Oratory School, accessed 2 May 2008
  20. ^ "London Oratory School Schola", Boy soloist, accessed 2 May 2008
  21. ^ "London Oratory School Schola - Filmography", The New York Times, accessed 2 May 2008

[edit] External links